Over the last 72 hours or so, we have received about 5 calls for frozen pipes.  This made me realize something. In a previous posting, we had talked about what to do in case you find yourself with frozen pipes.  Unfortunately, we never mentioned how to prevent frozen pipes.  The advice is fairly obvious, it is just forgotten about.  Keep windows closed, keep the furnace or any other heat source on, and try and stop any drafts that may be close to your pipes.  If you have not ventured into your basement in quite some time, you may want to go reacquaint yourself with it.  Check around the perimeter for any windows that are open or cracked even a little, and shut them.  Check for any direct openings to the outside and put something in front of it.  Do not turn your furnace down too low if you are leaving.  Remember, if you set your heat at 50 degrees, that is the temperature at the thermostat itself, it may be MUCH colder down in the basement or crawlspace.  Today we worked at an auto body shop that had a few separate buildings.  They had one building dedicated to their painting with a few vacant offices in it.  The problem occurred when they closed the doors to the vacant offices, which contained the water meter, and did not heat that part of the building.  This resulted in a frozen water meter, frozen faucet, but luckily, no split pipes.  This time of year, when the temperature starts flirting with zero degrees, extra attention should be placed on vulnerable water lines throughout your home or business.